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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
They should have released this single first. Fantastic., August 12, 2008
Finally, a real breath of fresh air. While I'm not a Cure/Robert Smith purist, I do believe that the earlier singles were a little lacking (i.e. Freakshow). I liked Sleep when I'm Dead, and The Only One, but this new single takes the cake as the first really great thing they have done since Bloodflowers came out back in 2000 (or maybe the Signal To Noise single) . The Perfect Boy has a great melodic hook that can be found on many of the band's wonderful back catalogue, something that people were complaining about with the three previous singles. Its obvious that this album is going to be straight-up rock Cure-style, mostly void of keyboards. However, if the rest of the album sounds like this song, I will be very pleased. The b-side Without You is great as well and features acoustic guitar. Kind of reminds me of Jupiter Crash. I dunno. I think people will be more pleased with this song than the previous three singles.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Perfect Boy, August 12, 2008
As the fourth and final single heralding the release of the Cure's 13th studio album on October 13th, The Perfect Boy had plenty to live up to considering the excellent quality of the first three singles, which until now have seemed to get better and better. Fortunately for Cure fans, The Perfect Boy meets the standards set by the first three singles, striking an interesting balance between the cotton candy pop of Just Like Heaven and the rock and roll sound of their self-titled album's better tracks. Robert Smith stated that the song was one very near and dear to his heart, and from his emotional, sincere delivery, there is no doubting that it is true.
Both the single and the b-side, Without You, are builders, gradually mounting their sonic attack as the song progresses. The additional instrumentation that appears in the songs is intelligent and restrained, improving the songs without making them sound too busy. Without You comes off sounding like an outtake from the excellent Bloodflowers with modern Cure production sound, and is a worthy companion to The Perfect Boy. Another great single from a great band. Keep an ear out for the Hypnagogic States EP in September, remixed by a questionable selection of emo-alt's finest and 65daysofstatic, the opening act for the Cure's 2008 US Tour. All artist royalties from the EP will go to support the Red Cross, so even if the remixer selection is disappointing, the EP will at least serve a good purpose.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
High Fidelity, August 13, 2008
"The Perfect Boy" is another really good one. I can hear a bit of "Strange Attraction" and "Mint Car" in this one and that's cool because those were among my favorites from Wild Mood Swings. Also hear a bit of "alt.end" in there on second listen. Sorry, I've listened to them so much the last 20 years I can't help but hear things that remind me of other songs I like. The b-side "Without You" is one of their best strummy, ballad-type songs. Robert really knocks it out of the park with some great soaring vocals. If you've ever gone your own way and severed any ties with any person, group, or organization this one strikes a chord. I've been really impressed with Robert's vocals and wordplay on all of the singles so far (and with the rest of the band's great work of course) and can't wait to hear all that will be on 4:13 Dream.
As I've taken all the new releases in over the last few months I've found "The Perfect Boy" and "The Only One" to have some very meaningful lyrics when viewed in context of who is singing them. Seems to be a theme, maybe the 20th anniversary Robert and his wife celebrated recently has something to do with it. Whatever the titles and lyrics are supposed to mean it's always encouraging to see a rocker, especially from my favorite band, endorse something as important as fidelity through his songs and lifestyle. And I'll try not to rant (much), but it reminds me of a potential reason I thought of as to why these Billboard chart-topping singles are receiving such limited airplay here despite their popularity (see the posts on thecure.com, I'm not making it up). It's not the music, it's the message that's keeping it off the airwaves. Think about it. Lyrics that support fidelity in relationships will get about as much support as a truly helpful spiritual lesson of any kind in the media - they'd rather keep the train wrecks coming, so destructive (or has it always been?). I've read people's complaints that The Cure doesn't stand for anything in reviews elsewhere and I think this proves entirely the opposite. Anyways, you're an inspiration RS!
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